A Day Before
by Dekomori
Summary: Sarah Bolton. Twelve year old Sarah Bolton. How could this happen? She asked herself that all the time. Leaving all of her friends behind, she leaves District 5 to participate in the Hunger Games. Use to be a one-shot, but due to popular demand, as in like three of my classmates, this is now a full story. For the MACC Class! Due to my busy schedule, ON HOLD.
1. Prologue

**This is the prologue to A Day Before. Enjoy!**** Or don't** **enjoy...**

* * *

_Run. Forever running. Forever running away from them. The Gamemakers. Liz Crown. President Snow. The Capital._

_Clare ran beside Deeandra, Diana and Sarah. Her three best friends. Running into the forest. Leaving everything behind. Food. Shelter. Family..._

_They had no choice. They saw the whipping. The whipping that killed Dunstan and Key. That is what driven them to insanity._

_Run._

_Run._

_Run._

_Don't stop. They will make it. They had to make it. The sound of horses hoofs were familiar to them. Hearing the sound of whips behind them. They were getting closer. And closer. And closer. The whip was raised, ready to whip the youngest of them all._

_Sarah._

_Before the Gamemaker could whip her, he had a change of plans. He turned towards Clare and smirked._

_Snap._

_He missed. He raised his whip again and whipped Clare. She fell and laid on the ground. The cold ground that was slowly getting covered with her blood._

_"Clare!" Sarah yelled, her voice filled with despair._

* * *

"Clare!" Sarah yelled in her face. Clare groaned and rolled over. The three other girls laughed.

"C'mon Clare. Get up!" Diana said, a book in her hand. Clare grunted and didn't move. Sarah and Clare looked at Deeandra for help. Deeandra cleared her throat and started to sing.

"I'm on the edge, of glory! And I'm hanging on a moment with you!" Clare pushed Deeandra off of her bed and got up.

"What the heck do you want?" She said, her voice slightly raspy. "But first of all, how the hell did you get in my house?"

"Your mom let us in." Diana said, reading her book.

"Whatever," Clare got up and grabbed some clothes from her dresser and headed to her bathroom to get ready. The nightmare kept replaying inside her head.

"Yesterday's lesson must've got included with my nightmare somehow." She muttered, looking at herself in the mirror. Yesterday they had learned about slavery and how they were whipped if they had tried to escape. She shook her head and got ready.

* * *

Clare walked out of the bathroom to see three pairs of eyes looking back at her.

"What are we going to do today?" Clare asked.

"We're going to Diana's backyard to talk and shit." Sarah said. Clare nodded and went downstairs to eat breakfast. The other girls waited for her and when she was finally done, they went to Diana's backyard and sat around in a circle.

* * *

**I know it's short, but it's a prologue, what did you expect?**


	2. The Day Before and the Reaping

**Wow I haven't seen you guys in a while XD Anyways, school has started which led to me not updating in FOREVER and I'm going to come back to FanFiction with a One-shot! Its just about four friends in District 5 talking the day before the reaping.  
For Deeandra, Diana, and Clare!**

**And btw, my name IS Sarah. Oh and if Deeandra, Diana or Clare is reading this, I slightly changed our appearances/last names/personality for the sake of the one-shot okay?**

* * *

They all sat around in a circle, talking about tomorrows events. The four girls in District 5 that could be reaped for the 72nd Hunger Games.

You had Sarah, the youngest of them all at twelve years old with long brown hair and brownish-hazel eyes.

Then, there was fourteen year old Clare, with dark brown hair and grayish-blueish eyes.

And then Deeandra, probably the loudest, weirdest person you will ever meet with short dark brown hair and brown eyes.

And finally, you had Diana, the quiet bookworm with light brown hair and black glasses.

Sarah was slightly shaking. This will be her first reaping, and even though her name will only be in there once, she has horrible luck.

"You alright?" Diana asked, looking up from her book. Sarah didn't answer so Diana went back to reading her book.

"Dammit Diana! Get your head out of that book! I know you like it and all, but still!" Deeandra yelled, yet failing trying to sound mad since she was laughing.

"Fine, fine." Diana grumbled, putting the book aside.

"You sound unusually happy when the reapings tomorrow." Clare said. Deeandra shrugged.

"It's my job to be loud and weird and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon."

"Deeandra," Sarah started. "You're an idiot sometimes, did you know that?" Deeandra nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"Deeandra this isn't a joke. One of us could get reaped!" Diana yelled. Everyone was taken back. It was the reapings that made Diana so cautious and jumpy "You could show _some_ compassion."

Clare sat watching them trying hard not to laugh at Deeandra's expression.

"I'm on the edge, of glory! And I'm-" Deeandra started singing.

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE START THAT UP AGAIN." Clare warned. They all laughed, occasionally sipping some fruit punch now and then. Eventually, Diana's mom came out with a plate full of fruits and sweets.

"Thanks mom," Diana said, taking the plate and placing it in the middle of the circle. Deeandra immediately grabbed a strawberry hard candy. Clare just shook her head and grabbed a piece of watermelon.

"So what are we going to do about tomorrow?" Sarah asked, drinking some fruit punch.

"Hope none of us get reaped and carry on with our lives." Clare said, they always said that the day before the reaping. That line gave them a little hope every year that none of them would get reaped. The rest of them agreed and took another piece of fruit/candy.

"They would think District 5's kids would be grateful to be in the games but in reality, they are just a terrified as everyone else." Clare said, 'they' referring to the other districts. The day before the reaping was the day they would be serious (excluding Deeandra) and tell everyone how they felt about them. And if they didn't get reaped, they would carry like nothing happened. This always happens every year and they never skip saying the line, or tell other people how they fell about them.

"I know 'they' do the Hunger Games to show how 'powerful' they are but isn't making us work for them enough?" Diana asked. This time 'they' meaning the Capital.

"I know! 'They' don't know how hard it is to work for them, now they're making kids fight to the death for amusement! It sickens me." Sarah agreed.

"Will you guys stop complaining and have a piece of candy?" Deeandra said, offering them a strawberry hard candy. When Clare reached over to grab it, Deeandra retracted her hand and popped the candy in her mouth. "Actually, never mind. My candy." They laughed and Clare just took a small piece of chocolate instead.

"Hey what are you guys wearing for the reaping tomorrow?" Deeandra asked, still sucking on the hard candy.

"I don't know yet." Diana said.

"Me nether," Sarah added.

"I guess none of us know what we're wearing." Clare said.

"I know what I'm wearing!" Deeandra said in a sing-song voice. "I'm wearing a blue dress with a beige scarf and light pink ballet flats." (You'll find her Outfit on my polyvore account on my profile)

Deeandra's face turned into one of an excited one and everyone else groaned.

"I can help you guys find something to wear! Starting with Diana since we're in her backyard." Deeandra said excitedly.

"Please no, I can find something on my own." Diana said.

"C'mon it'll be fun!" Deeandra said, dragging Diana into her house with Clare and Sarah following behind smirking. Deeandra dragged Diana into her room and started to look through her closet. Deeandra didn't find anything for the first five minutes so Sarah walked up beside her and pulled out a light yellow dress with a small brown bow around the waist. Then she found floral ballet flats and black stud earrings. (Her outfit is also on my polyvore account)

"Here," Sarah said, giving the outfit to Diana. "Go try it on!" Sarah shoved Diana into her bathroom and leaned against the door.

"How did you pick out an outfit so quickly?" Clare asked.

"I spent a whole weekend with Deeandra before. It was terrible." Sarah replied.

"Hey! It wasn't _that_ bad." Deeandra said.

"You made me help you pick out outfits! I had spent the following week trying to get the scent of perfume off of me!" Sarah said. Diana came out of the bathroom with her old clothes in her hand.

"Girl you look great!" Deeandra said. Diana nodded and went back into the bathroom to change back.

"Oh yeah Sarah, you're up next!" Deeandra exclaimed happily. All the colour was drained out of Sarah's face. Clare laughed at her expression. Diana came out with her reaping outfit neatly folded in her hands.

"Alright, who's next?" she asked, placing the clothes onto her bed. Clare and Deeandra pointed at Sarah.

"To your house!" Clare said, helping Deeandra drag Sarah to her house. They went to her room and started rummaging through her closet. Clare pulled out a cream coloured dress and black and white ballet flats. Then she got out a black fedora and a small necklace with two hearts on it. (Her outfit is also on my polyvore account)

"Go, go, go!" Clare said, handing Sarah the outfit and shoving her into her bathroom like how Sarah did to Diana. Clare then sat down on Sarah's bed beside Diana and Deeandra.

"_Normal_ people spend time with their families the day before the reaping. _Us_, on the other hand, spend our time finding outfits for the reaping." Diana said, getting a laugh out of Clare and Deeandra.

"I wonder what Sophia is doing right now." Deeandra said. Sophia was one of Deeandra's classmates. Sarah walked out of the bathroom wearing the outfit.

"Can I change back into my regular clothes now?" Sarah asked.

"No, wait. Twirl in your dress _then_ you can change back." Deeandra said. Sarah groaned and twirled for her 'friends' and went back into the bathroom to change.

"Claareee," Diana said, imitating Deeandra's sing-song voice. "You're neeext." They heard Sarah laugh in the bathroom.

"I don't need your guys help to pick out a outfi-" Clare was cut off by Sarah.

"Yes you do." She said, placing her outfit on her bed. "Now let's go!" Sarah yelled, dragging Clare out of her house and into hers.

"Ugh, so give me an outfit and then someone will shove me into the bathroom." Clare said. Diana wasn't really paying attention since she was looking through her closet. Diana got out a black dress with a purple bow around the waist. Then, she pulled out black ballet flats and a necklace that said 'dance'. Diana gave the outfit to Clare and shoved her into her bathroom. (Her outfit is also on my polyvore account)

"Well, she _did_ say to shove her into the bathroom." Deeandra said.

"Anyways, what's with your obsession with the song 'Edge of Glory'?" Sarah asked.

"Ehh..." Deeandra started. "Oh look! Clare's done!" Clare walked out of the bathroom wearing the outfit Diana picked out for her.

"Like it?" Clare asked. The three others nodded and Clare went back into her bathroom to change.

"What to do, what to do..." Sarah said. Clare came out of the bathroom and placed her reaping outfit on the bed.

"Let's go outside!" Diana suggested.

"Sure!" Clare said, already exiting her room with the others following. They went back to Diana's backyard where the plate of sweets was covered with a large bowl. Sarah put the bowl aside and grabbed a piece of chocolate. They all sat around the plate in silence, thinking about tomorrows events and their odds about getting reaped. All their names are in the reaping bowl once. Since they're in District 5, they were well fed and didn't need to take tesserae. Barely any kids in the first six districts needed to take tesserae.

"Guys. Guys!" Diana's mom yelled, snapping them out of their thoughts. "You guys have been sitting out here for hours just eating sweets and staring off into the distance. It's 8:00, I think you guys should go home and get ready for tomorrow."

"Ok mom, bye guys!" Diana said. They said their goodbyes and went home.

That was the day before. Today is the reaping.

* * *

Sarah stepped out of her bathroom, towel wrapped around her, she looked at her outfit that was laid down before her. She sighed and changed into her outfit. She slightly curled her hair and went downstairs to meet with her older sister, Catherine, and her older brother, Hao (How).

"You alright?" Catherine asked her. Catherine was already changed into her reaping outfit since she was only 15 and was still involved in the Hunger Games. (Catherine's outfit is also on my polyvore account). Sarah nodded and went outside to meet up with the others.

* * *

Deeandra was downstairs eating her breakfast. She hadn't changed into her reaping outfit yet and she dreaded the time she had to. She eventually finished her breakfast and went upstairs to her room to change.

She had spent 20 minutes in front of the mirror trying to figure out how to wear her hair but she eventually decided to straighten it. She went downstairs and headed to the park where Sarah was already waiting.

* * *

Clare had dreaded this day the entire year.

She had sat on her bed for a while now waiting for herself to wake up at school or in her bed. But, this wasn't another nightmare like she hoped. She changed into her outfit and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

She had finally finished her breakfast of eggs and sausage and left her hair alone before going to the park down the street.

* * *

Diana waited. And waited. And waited. She was staring at the hovercraft above hoping it would make an announcement that this year's Hunger Games would be canceled but that didn't happen. She changed in her reaping outfit and went straight to the park skipping breakfast.

"Hey guys," Diana said, going towards the group of three sitting on a bench.

"Hello," Sarah said quietly. They just sat on the bench, not saying a thing. Just enjoying their company while they can._  
_

_Boom._

They got up and started walking towards the Justice Building. Clare, Deeandra, and Diana joined the other 14 year old kids while Sarah joined the 12 year old kids.

"Next. Next." The lady behind the desk said. Sarah extended her finger out then went towards the front of the group facing the stage.

_Tap_

_Tap_

_Tap_

The woman know as Liz Crown tapped on the microphone. She had a purple dress on with a blue blazer on and black ankle boots that had four inch tall heels. Her light brown hair was in a fancy braid that went into a bun. (Her outfit is on my polyvore account also)

"Welcome, welcome. To the 72nd Hunger Games! Now to start up the Reaping, we have a really special film straight from the Capital!" Liz exclaimed happily. The four girls had zoned out and didn't pay attention until it was time to reap the boy and girl.

"It is now time to announce the tributes. I'm going to change it up and do the boys first." Liz walked up and took a while finding the _perfect_ slip to read aloud.

"Dunstan Lee!"

The thirteen year old boy walked onto the stage, adjusting his glasses when he got to the stage. You could see his best friend Key looking worried for him in the crowd, shifting from foot to foot nervously. Dunstan looked at Key while running a hand through his hair.

"Time for the girls!" Liz said into the microphone, until walking over to the glass bowl and picking out the first lip she touched. "And the girl representing District 5 is..."

You could hear a pin drop in this deafening silence. The four girls looked at each other one last time before Liz finally said the name on slip.

"Sarah Bolton!"

Crap.

* * *

**So, ends my first ever one-shot and yes if Deeandra, Clare or Diana is reading this, I USED DUNSTAN AND KEY! Yeah, I needed someone for the boy tribute so... Anyways, is Lee Dunstan's real last name? Because if it is, I have some changes to do. This is actually the longest chapter I ever wrote. Lol 'K bye.**

**~ Sarah**

**REVIEW V**


	3. The Penthouse

**DEM MACC CLASS REVIEWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

**Lol, anyways this is now a full story!**

**Yay...**

**Anyways, All the reviews I got so far where people in my MACC class. -.-**

**Who is Silver Torture? Pls help.** **Is it Key? TELL MEH**

**Also, Amy (Another one of my classmates) complained how she wasn't in the story. So, YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN THE STORY.**

* * *

Sarah's POV

I watched as Clare, Deeandra, and Diana walk through the door.

"You know, I always thought my family would come visit me first. Oh well." I said, smirking. They managed a smile.

"Here, I got these for you from the bakery." Clare said, handing me a small bundle of chocolate chip cookies. I smiled.

"Thanks," I said, already scarfing them down. "How the hell did my name get called out out of like thirty girls? Pls explain." Using my best Dolan voice for the last part. Clare shrugged.

"Dunno, think you just got lucky- errr, _unlucky_ I should say."

I sighed unusually loudly.

"Well, _if_ I win I am gonna spend all my money on cookies!" I said, eating the last cookie. Diana shook her head, probably mentally facepalming.

"To say goodbye, I'm going to sing to you!" Deeandra said. _Oh god..._

"I'm on the edg-" She was cut of by the peacekeeper.

"Times up," he said, urging them out of my room. I could see he was trying hard not to laugh nor smile at Deeandra's singing. They waved a finally goodbye before leaving my room. Next came in my family. Practically only my brother and sister. You see, my brother was twenty-one when my parents died three years ago so my sister and I didn't have to go to a orphanage at the time.

My brother choked my in a hug.

"Dammit Hao!" I managed to say. He chuckled and let go of me.

"You alright?" My sister asked, still laughing at my brother. I nodded. This was how all the goodbyes went. Laughing and crying when we shouldn't be and vise versa.

The list of people that visited me was _huge_. Key, Andrea, Hema, Ethan, Johnathon, Ryan, John, Alex... The list went on and on. **(For those people who don't know, I practically named most of the people in my class. XD)** Eventually, the peacekeeper came and led me to the train. I immediately went to the dining car where I found Dunstan talking to Brunner Liberty, our mentor. I sat down beside Dunstan and listened to Brunner.

"Ah, there she is, the girl tribute. Savannah right?" He asked taking a bite out of a cheese biscuit.

"Sarah," I corrected. He waved it off and took a sip of some red wine. I studied Brunner more carefully. He had black hair that was slightly spiked in the front. His bright amber eyes were intimidating me. What I found funny was that him and Liz looked unusually normal for living in the Capital. They still had the Capital accent but if they dressed in normal clothes and lost the accent, they could pass off as normal people.

"Anyways, I learned that Dunstan is good at using knives. You?" He asked. I looked over to Dunstan who was looking out the window. I would've never thought of him using knives as a weapon.

"I'm good with a sword," I said. I wasn't lying. I had taken sword lessons before for fun. I didn't think I had to use those skills _against_ other people! Brunner nodded.

"Anything else?" He asked us. "You have to have a secondary weapon if you can't get your hands on the one you want."

"Sword," Dunstan said, looking back at us.

"Bow and arrow," I said. Brunner nodded and went deep in thought.

"Ah, here are some tips for the arena. I know you two are young, but you two have _so_ much potential." He paused for a moment and continued. "Number one: Don't go into the cornucopia, it's the Bloodbath, it's almost a guarantee that you'll die. So just run off into the woods if there is any. Number 2: As soon as you get away from the Bloodbath, try to find water immediately. Water is your friend. Number 3: Don't die." Brunner laughed after saying the last one.

"Anyways, I want you to be a little angel but when you get to the arena, be ruthless." Brunner said to me. "And I want you," he said to Dunstan. "to appear as weak and as an easy target but be ruthless in the arena too. Doing those things will get you sponsors."

I shifted uncomfortably beside Dunstan who looked tense. He seemed to be looking at something in the distance. Then I saw it.

The damn Capital.

I could hear the loud screams coming from outside when we got off the train. I covered my ears as we were hurried into the large building in front of us. An Avox smiled at us when we came inside. She had led us into an elevator and pressed to number '5'. The ride up seemed to last a lifetime. The awkward silence between us wasn't even funny.

_Ding!_

Finally! We were led into a large living room with brightly coloured furniture and lights. I looked around in awe. Dunstan looked around like he couldn't believe we were here. The Avox led us to our rooms where king sized beds were in the middle of. I was enjoying this while it lasted but _of course_ Liz interruped me.

"Dinner in forty! You should probably get cleaned up first though." I nodded and she left my room.

I took a shower and stood in front of my dresser for a minute, looking for clothes that looked semi normal. I placed the somewhat normal clothes in my drawer near my bed and started looking for some decent clothes. I finally settled for a black v-neck and a pair of skinny jeans. I headed out of my room and into the dining room where Brunner, Liz, and Dunstan were already eating.

"There you are! I was about to send an Avox to come get you." Liz said. I looked at the _fancy_ clock on the wall. I was ten minutes late, so what? I sat next to Dunstan and started filling my plate with roast beef, deviled eggs, some other stuff that looked good... I scarfed it all down within 10 minutes.

"Slow down, you're going to get a stomache ache." Brunner said, already pouring himself a third glass of wine.

"You should slow down, you're going to be drunk in a matter of minutes." I muttered. Dunstan heard me and laughed. The other two looked at us confused.

"What are you two laughing about?" Liz asked. None of us answered her. "Fine, don't tell me."

Dinner was great. I mean, the awkward silence between all of us after Dunstan and I laughed didn't bother anyone! Alright so that was _pure_ sarcasm right there. Nobody had tried to break the silence. We just sat there having the Avoxes trade the dishes from beef, to chicken, to lamb.

Anyways, I went back to my room after dinner and I have been sitting on my bed for like fricken 4 hours. Doing what? Nothing. Abosolutely nothing. I just sat there with a blank mind looking at some of the Capital citizens partying outside in the town square like there was no tomorrow. What the hell is wrong with these people? It was 1:00 in the morning and they still partied. For all I know, the party started at 9:00 am yesterday. I shook my head. I grabbed a white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and fell asleep.

* * *

_I rocked back and forth in the corner, eyes wide open. Seeing that... no, no, no! My mind was filled with that picture. That picture of Dunstan's head cut off... it, it, it... It sent me to insanity._

_"Sarah..." Diana said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I slapped it away. My situation reminded me of Annie Cresta. How she witnessed her district partner's head cut off and that sent her to insanity. That same thing happened to me. I brought me knees closer to my chest and hid my pale face. I heard my best friends exit and leave my in my room. They weren't coming back. They were never coming back._

* * *

I woke up startled and sat on my bed for a while, realizing it was just a dream. I groggily got up and looked in the mirror. Suprisingly, I didn't look that bad. I had _very_ small bags under my eyes and that was pretty much it. I changed out of my pajamas and went to the dining room where everyone was having breakfast. Why is everyone awake before I am? I looked at the clock. _7:00 am_, it said. Why am I up so early?

I took a seat next to Dunstan and put whatever I grabbed onto my plate.

"Someone looks tired," Dunstan said. I grunted in response. He smirked then went back to eating. Breakfast is unsually long. Filled with nothing but silence, we sat eating and not a word was said. I finished before everyone else, and when I looked at the clock, guess what time it was? _7:30._ I sighed and went back to my room.

I plopped myself, face first onto the bed. The soft fabics greeted my skin until I practically choked on it. I got off my bed and looked out the window. The whole town square was a mess. Beer spills, confetti, so many things were scattered or spilled on the floor that you could barely see the coloured cement. I scrunched my nose in response.

I ran my hand around the furry blanket, unsure if it was real or not, wondering if to the Captial, the Hunger Games are really entertaining. I mean, it's not like they have to worry for any of their kids, or worry for the kids' family. I tried to think of me in their shoes. Living in the Capital, living in a house like this all the time... Nope. I can't imagine living in their shoes. They barely have to work for their food. They just go to a supermarket or something like that and buy the food they need. They buy the food the _d__istricts_ provide them with. I wondered, if the Districts stopped working for them, wouldn't they have to work for themselves? I ran that thought through my head for a while. I needed to clear my head.

I grabbed a random reaping tape off of my desk and slid in into the DVD player under the TV. I recognized the district as District 3.

* * *

_"Ladies first!" Lottie Devine said, walking over to the glass bowl containing the slips. She dug around before swiftly taking out a slip._

_"Amy Redding!" A tall, confident thirteen year old walked up onto stage and faced the crowd. Lottie smiled at her before going back to the podium._

_"Now for the boys." She walked over to the other side of the stage and picked out the first slip she touched._

_"Jay Smith!" A weak looking 12 year old boy walked onto the stage, tripping on the stairs. Amy shook her head. It was obvious he wasn't a good fighter._

_"May I present to you, the tributes of District 3!"_

* * *

I had to admit it. Amy was a freaking giant. She was _way_ taller than me.

"So you're watching the re-runs too." Dunstan said, leaning on the doorway.

"There's a thing called knocking you know." I said, pausing the tape. He smirked.

"I would've knocked if your door was closed." I scrunched my nose in response.

"Do you need anything?" I asked.

"Nope." He said, popping the 'p'. He left before I could say anything. I rolled my eyes and sat back down on my bed.

I looked out the window again to see Avoxes cleaning up the town square. Seriously, how lazy are the Capital citizens? I adjust my seating position and look at the gardens and houses outside. Now that I got a closer look at it, the Capital was quite beautiful. Maybe a little too colourful but other than that, it's amazing.

Being honest, I would love to explore the Capital, but I'm stuck in my fancy room until the Tribute Parade. Then it hit me.

The Tribute Parade is today.

* * *

**Look at that cliffy. Lol. I found out that people in the UK reads this story O.O And, for anyone outside of the MACC class, do NOT expect _any_ love in this story. I'm not good at/with sappy stories :P**

**So I heard One Direction's new song, 'Live While We're Young' and I have to admit. It's damn catchy.**

**Lol byeeeee!**

**~ Sarah**


	4. Tribute Parade

**So I read Amy's review...**

**HAHAHAHA KEY WAS HACKED HAHAHAHAHA**

**A love letter to Dunstan... How interesting.**

**Oh and Amy, Redding was my old school's principle's last name. Mr. Redding. YOU SHOULD BE FLATTERED.**

**I chose our last names from teachers in my old school. Sarah Bolton. Mr. Bolton. Lol, I came up with Lee since it sounded Asian. #Nohate**

**And wtf, 'Squishy Hammer'? Wtf, Key were you high? Lol.**

* * *

Sarah's POV

"Ow!" I yelled as a strip of my hair was removed. I was currently getting my entire body waxed by my prep team. Their names? Dunno. But I do know that the one with purple-pink hair has a name that sounds like potato. I believe it was pronounced 'po-ti-too'. But from her name tag, it's spelt 'Photito'. I have to admit, that name would sound awesome if it wasn't pronounced similar to potato. I had a watch on my left wrist that I found in my room. It was a small, silver watch that I guess was meant to be worn by me. I'll never know why though.

Anyways, she had put another waxing strip on my leg and I gritted my teeth. Well, at least tried to. They had me put on some teeth whitening strips because apparently my teeth were white but 'not white enough'. I bit my lip as they ripped off the waxing strip. My smooth pinkish legs stung from the waxing. Did I mention I was naked? No? Oh well. I scrunched my nose as they rubbed a cold cream onto my legs. You do not know how much I want to kick these women in the face right now. The cream did help with the stinging, but I wanted to get up and grab my robe off of the chair on the other side of the room.

"Now wait right here while I get Paul." Photito said, leaving the room. I scoffed at the rest of my prep team. Photito came back with a tall, normal looking man trailing behind her. He had pale-ish skin, glasses and he happened to be bald. A mustache laid above his lips lazily.**  
**

"Get your robe on and we'll talk during lunch." Paul said. I nodded and practically ran for my robe. I went to where Paul was sitting and sat across from him.

"My name is Paul Allinger. I will be your stylist and possibly, a friend." He said while gesturing a Avox to bring our lunches. The Avox came back with two trays of food, all of them looking different than yesterday's dinner. I took a tray out of her hands and laid it in front of me.

"Sarah Bolton right?" Paul said, taking a bite out of his chicken. I nodded. I cut a piece of steak and ate it quietly. We finished lunch in silence before starting to talk about my parade costume.

"So, since District 5 is Power, I thought we should have something that stands out like sparks. So, my partner Zoya and I designed outfits that sparks. Literally, sparks." He said. I have to admit, this sounded pretty cool.

"It's a really simple costume since we know how you guys don't like super fancy stuff. The important thing is that is sparks." He said. I nodded. "Now let's go get that costume on."

* * *

I walked out of the dressing room, mouth wide open. I was wearing a light blue one shoulder dress with a black strap around the waist. The bottom of the dress looked like it was slightly burned by fire. The fabric was darker colour and it was torn a little. I had a dark blue choker with sapphires on it to go along with the dress. I had navy blue flats that slightly hurt my feet when I walked. My hair was slightly curled and I had a purple bow on the back of my hair.

"Now hold still," Paul said, he was putting little emeralds onto the front of my right shoulder. "Now, let's go meet up with Dunstan and Zoya."

* * *

We went towards the chariot, looking at the weirdly dressed tributes as we passed. When I saw Dunstan's outfit, I swear he could go to school wearing it.

"Hey," I said. Dunstan nodded and looked to Paul for some tips.

Dunstan's POV

I nodded and looked to Paul for tips.

I was wearing a dark blue v-neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows. The bottom of the sweater looked slightly burned and torn. There was this black strap on the back of it that looked similar to the strap on Sarah's dress. I had darker blue, almost black, jeans and black sneakers that no one will ever see while I'm in the chariot.

"Now," Paul said, holding a blowtorch in his hand. "Once we set your straps on fire, the straps will start sparking big time." Without waiting for our response, he turned on the blowtorch and lit my strap. The sparkling noise rung in my ears until the noise went down and I could see the sparks flying around in my face. Zoya had already set Sarah's strap on fire and instead of her sparks going upward like mine, her's went downward and made some sort of ruffle for her dress. I noticed that my sparks were a dark purple colour.

"Now smile and wave at the audience!" Zoya instructed, urging us into the chariot. I stopped in front of the door, hesitant to go in.

"Come on Sparky," Sarah said, pulling me into the chariot against my will.

"Sparky?" I asked. She smirked and refused to answer me. I looked away and waited for our chariot to start moving. I looked around at the other tributes. District 1 was wearing some golden suits that hurt my eyes, District 7 had make-up on that made them look like trees and all the other tributes costumes were so outrageous that I couldn't even describe them. The chariot started moving behind four other ones. The crowd cheered as tributes poured through the hall. Then, we came out.

I tried not to cover my ears as the crowd screamed and yelled. I looked over to my left and see Sarah smiling and waving at the crowd. I put on my best smile and did the same. I caught a rose that was thrown at me and threw it to some random person in the audience. We stopped at the end of the hall and when I looked over to the other tributes, they were whispering and pointing at us while giving us dirty looks.

Talk about multitasking.

We all looked at President Snow who was standing on his balcony like he was the king of the world.

"May I present to you, the tributes of the 72nd Hunger Games!" He yelled into his microphone. The crowd went wild. The sparks behind me crackled to no end. President Snow rambled on about the history of the Hunger Games and other things I don't bother mentioning. The chariots went back into the large building where we practically ran out of the chariot and met up with Paul and Zoya.

"You guys did great!" Zoya praised. "Now let's go change back."

* * *

I sat in my room, staring at the wall. Then I spotted a phone at the end of the room. Reasonable people would call their families. Apparently, I'm not reasonable. I grabbed the phone and dialed Key's number.

**Bold = Key** _Italic = Dunstan_

**Hello?** He asked. I guess he wasn't really expecting a phone call from the Capital.

_Hey Key, it's Dunstan._ I could almost see him straighten up.

**Oh hey, I heard you did the Tribute Parade today. Well, I watched it actually.**.. **Sparky...** He teased. What's with everyone and calling me Sparky?

_No, not you too!_

**Why, what happened?** I heard him laugh over the phone.

_Sarah called me Sparky too._ I reluctantly told.

**Haha, Sparky. **He teased.

_Stop calling me that! _I begged. If this carries on and I win the Games, I will never live up to that nickname.

**Never, Sparky!** I sighed loudly.

_So, what's happening back home?_ I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

**Ehh, not much actually. Whenever something related to the Games are on TV, the school is forced to play it on the TVs in the halls.** He replied. They forced seven to seventeen year old kids to watch the Games? Interesting...

"Dunstan, dinners ready!" I hear Liz screech from downstairs.

_Ughh, I have to go. Might call you tomorrow if I'm not killed in training._ I said, Liz's voice ringing in my ears.

**Bye Dunstan!** Key said.

_Bye..._ I said before hanging up. I went downstairs to see that Liz, Brunner _and_ Sarah were already there.

"Now look who's late for dinner." Sarah teased. I waved her off and sat in my seat next to her.

"So, as you might know, tomorrow is training." Liz said. Sarah froze next to me. I smirked.

"Now look who's late on knowing." I said, my voice quiet enough for only her to hear. She lightly elbowed me and listened to Liz.

"We will go to the training room at 9:00 am sharp! Do _not_ be late or else we will leave you here. Understand?" Sarah and I nodded before the Avoxes started bringing out our dinner. Today, we actually talked during dinner. Surprising, I know. We talked about our strategies and weapons for the Games. Dinner was done early and we all went to our rooms for the night.

* * *

Sarah's POV

I got up at 7:30 and took a shower. I dried my hair till it was barely damp and went downstairs to eat breakfast. When I got there, the Avoxes were still setting up breakfast so I was the first one there. I smirked when they put a bottle of red wine on the table.

_Probably for Brunner..._

I sat in my seat and grabbed a plate. Filling it with food as soon as it came to the table. I thanked the Avoxes when they were done setting the table. They seemed surprised. I guess not many people in the Capital say 'thank you'.

"What are you doing up so early?" Dunstan asked, rubbing his eyes. I shrugged.

"Dunno." I responded. "Anyways Sparky, why are we up before Liz and Brunner?" It was his turn to shrug.

"I guess they're rubbing off on us and don't call me Sparky!" I laughed.

"Please no, I don't want a Capital accent. I'm quite fine not sounding like the a queen who has a cold, thank you very much." He laughed and took his seat next to me.

"What's with all the noise and why are you guys up so early?" Liz said, a long, tired yawn followed. None of us answered her. She narrowed her eyes at us as she sat in her seat and started to fill her plate. Dunstan and I started to talk about training that was going to happen later today.

"Would you guys shut up? I was trying to sleep, but nooo. You guys _had_ to start talking and ruin it for me." Brunner said, stumbling downstairs. I laughed as he tripped walking over to us. He immediately grabbed a bottle of red wine and started to pour himself a glass.

"Even in the morning he likes to get drunk." Dunstan said to me. I laughed, Liz managed a smile and Brunner was not amused one bit.

"I don't get drunk, I get to the buzz stage then stop." He defended. Liz shook her head and waved her finger.

"No, no, no." She rambled. I looked at my watch. _8:00_. Wow, we've already been eating breakfast for thirty minutes. Usually, it takes fifteen minutes. Twenty-five at most. When I looked over to Brunner, I saw that he already finished half the bottle and was already pouring himself his fifth glass of wine.

"Gimme that!" Liz said, yanking the bottle out of his hand. She handed it to and Avox nearby who took it out of sight.

"Hey, I was drinking that." Brunnner whined.

"Aw, is someone missing his wine already?" I teased. I got a laugh out of everyone but Brunner. He glared at me and I shrugged in response.

"Yes I am. Now, can someone bring me another bottle?" He asked, looking at the Avoxes. One of them nodded and disappeared to find another bottle. She came back and handed him the large bottle before disappearing again. Brunner huffed at us and poured himself a glass.

"I swear you're gonig to be drunk before we get to training." Dunstan said. I agreed as Brunner muttered something under his breath. Liz rolled her eyes.

"Usual Brunner..." She said. I don't know if Dunstan and I were suppose to hear that, but we did and laughed at the idea of Brunner drinking nine to eleven glasses of wine a day. I could see Brunner twitching and narrowing his eyes at us while we laughed at him.

"Oh stop laughing, would you?" Brunner asked, greedily drinking from the bottle of wine. You could see his face go red as he finished the bottle. Liz looked at her watch.

"Time to go!" She chirped. We got up and went to the elevator at the other side of the room. We reluctantly went inside and Liz pressed the button. We went down silently until we came to the floor with the training center.

"Welcome to the Training Center. My name is Atlas and I will be the head instructor."

* * *

**Woo! Cliffys are awesome!**

**So Key, you were mentioned in the chapter! Good job, would you like a cookie?**

**Tomorrow is school and I haven't finished my IEP... Oh no..**

**Someone help, need something to do for Term three and two. PLS HALP.**


	5. Training Center

**Alright, before I start I need to ask Key. Wtf do you mean when you say 'It was simply the only name left.'? Pls tell meh.**

**And yes, when I came up with the name 'Atlas', I got it from PJO, except Atlas in this story is a girl. :P**

**Uhh, if anyone noticed, yes I did review this story badly to see how many people will notice.**

**So, for Term 2 I decided to write a book that has at least 50 pages. How nice. I left Term 3 blank. O.O**

**I've been listening to Heartbreak Coverup for a good couple of days now. I might mention a couple of lyrics here in mistake.**

**HUGE Thank you to saphire644 for helping me write this chapter!**

* * *

Dunstan's POV

I ignore Atlas and go to where the knives where. I ran my hand along the cold metal and admired the delicate carvings on the hilts. I look over my shoulder and see District 1, 2, and 3 all starting and snickering at me. I glared back at them, successfully silencing the group. I turn my attention back to the knives until the girl tribute from District 8 comes and takes one.

"Hey!" I yelled. She smirked.

"These are pretty nifty." She said twirling the knife and throwing it at an innocent target that just happened to conveniently be in the room. The knife hit the target, deeply cutting it. She turned to me with a smirk on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh Mr. High-and-Mighty you think you're something special?" She taunted.

"Not really." I shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Wow, the first tribute from District 5 that isn't cocky. How surprising." She sauntered away, (quite obnoxiously, I have to say), swaying her hips a bit _too_ much. I roll my eyes and go to retrieve the knife. I pulled it out of the target and put it back on the stand. I turned to the trainer (WHAT IS HER NAME) I forgot it. "Oh well." I thought. I see the cocky District 8 tribute girl whispering and giggling to her District partner. I raised my eyebrow at them when she kissed his cheek.

"When do we start training?" I asked him, Sarah by my side.

He shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." Sarah shook her head and looked over to the trainer.

"Now what?" I asked her.

"Dunno, guess we wait." She sighed and sat down. Apparently, Sarah was impatient today.

Half an hour later, I was BORED, so I took out a book I had stuffed in my jacket. I flip to the page with my bookmark and start reading. Sarah looked over at me and face-palmed, "We're in a dangerous place and the first thing you do is read?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, might as well read while I can." I said, going back to my book. She took the book out of my hand and put it on her lap. I was about to protest until the boy tribute from District 1 came over.

"What a bookworm. This place is for creating havoc and chaos, not for pathetic little boys like you." He sneered. It seemed like everyone was against us today. A small girl from District 12 came over.

"Don't get bothered by him, he's just as afraid as you guys." She said softly then smiled, walking off to sit near the side. Sarah smiled warmly at her and I took this chance to take my book back.

"Hey!" She said, swiping to take the book back. I swiftly moved my hand as she grabbed the air.

"You were saying?" I asked innocently. She playfully glared at me before looking away. Tributes eventually came pouring in as time went by.

Sarah's POV

The rest of the tributes eventually arrived and we all got in a circle around Atlas.

"Alright, so here are the rules. No fighting or interacting with other tributes. No-" I kinda zoned out after the first rule. I took this time to look over the tributes. I noticed a 12 year old looking girl from District 9 with long black hair with bangs. I'll call her Lorax because I can.

"Alright that is it, you may now start to train." Atlas said. Crap! I didn't listen to a word she said! Alright so maybe I did, but saying that I didn't makes it sound more dramatic.

I rubbed my eyes and went towards the swords. I noticed the boy tribute from District 1, Issac was his name, was there. I walked pass him and grabbed a sword. I saw him smirk at me.

Was he doubting my abilities with a sword?

I adjusted the sword in my hands before starting to swing at the targets. I would've called them dummies, but targets sound cooler.

_Chop that one's arm off, cut off that one's head, stab that one in the heart._

I saw the smirk on his face fall. I practiced some more with different kinds of swords, ignoring the fact that the Careers were practically watching my every move. I moved on to the bow and arrow station since I needed to work on my aim. I grabbed the silver bow and drew an arrow back. I watched my arrow hit the stomach of the target instead of the heart. I put a another arrow into the bow and pulled it back. I loosened a little and let go of the arrow. It hit higher this time, and I smiled at my progress. I was about to grab another arrow but before I could, Issac and the rest of the Careers came over and stood in front of me.

"Do you need something?" I asked, the smile falling from my face.

"We would like you to join the Career Pack." He said, smiling cockily. I narrowed my eyes at them.

"You must be crazy if you think I would join you, so, no thanks." I replied, walking away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." He said, grabbing my arm. I pulled myself out of his grasp and went over to where Dunstan was.

Dunstan's POV

I was practicing with the knives until I saw the Careers walking over to Sarah. I watched them cautiously until Sarah came over to me.

"What'd they want?" I asked.

"They wanted me to join the Careers." She said. "I said no though. I can't imagine myself with the Careers."

I shrugged. "I bet they would've killed you in the first night." She agreed and went over to the Nature Station. **(Was that what it was called?)**

I went over to the swords and picked one up. I swung at the targets and didn't do that bad. I pretended that is was just a long knife and because of that, I did much better. Apparently, the Career Pack was watching because they walked up to me, smiling.

Crap.

I turn away from them and walk away until Issac grabs my arm. I turn around to see the entire Career Pack staring me down. I stand up straight and look Issac in the eyes.

"If you guys want me to join your stupid Career Pack, forget it." I said, walking away.

"Wait!" Issac says, grabbing my arm again. "You'll do so much better with us."

I managed to escape from his iron grip and go to where the knives were. I practiced some more until I went to the Camouflage Station and somehow made my arm disappear into tree bark. **(Sound familiar? :3)** Out of the corner of my eye I see the girl tribute from District 7 watching me. She quickly hid her face and seemed to have disappeared. I slightly tilt my head and go back to camouflaging my arm.

* * *

Sarah's POV

Training went by fast. It only seemed like minutes later when we left for our suites. I went to my room where I took a shower and rested on my bed. I looked at the calender.

_Saturday, April 28, 2012_

It was Movie Night! That means Diana, Clare, Deeandra and a bunch of other people would all be at Diana's house and watching a movie! I grabbed the phone and dialed Diana's number.

_Italic = Diana_ Normal = Clare **Bold = Deeandra** _**Bold/Italic =**_** _Sarah_** Underlined = Other _**Bold/Italic/Underlined = Everyone** _ **(Holy crap, good luck keeping track of this)**

_Hello?_

_**Hey Diana, it's**_** _Sarah._**

**OMG HI SARAH!**

_**Hey Deeandra...**_

Hey Sarah!

_**'Ello **__**Clare!**_

_How's the Capitol?_

**Alright I guess... How's Movie Night?**

**It's just another lonely night, they happen all the time now that you're not around.**

**_ How sad. What movie are you guys watching?_**

Uhh, we're watching The Matrix.

Shut up Key, nobody likes you.

Shutting up now.

**_HAHAHAHAHA_ **

* * *

I look at the clock. Damn! It was time for dinner.

* * *

_**Got to go guys, cya!**_

_**BYE!**_

* * *

I hung up and headed downstairs where Liz and Dunstan was already eating and talking.

"What took you so long?" Dunstan asked as I took my seat beside him. "Did you go to Narnia or something?"

"First of all, if I went to Narnia, no time would've passed. Second of all, I was on the phone with Diana, Clare, Deeandra and some other people." I replied. He nodded and took a bite out of his steak.

"Where's Brunner?" I asked. As if on cue, Brunner came lazily downstairs and was immediately handed a bottle of red wine.

"What were you doing up there?" Liz asked. Brunner waved her off.

"It's just another wasted call full of alcohol." He said, drinking from the bottle. Liz shook her head, yet made no attempt to stop him. We were soon dismissed to our rooms for the night.

* * *

**Second Day of Training**

We walk into the training center where almost all the other tributes were training. I saw the girl from District 12 stumbling with a sword and Issac laughing at her. I went straight to the bows and arrows where the boy tribute from District 4 was. He smirked at me before completely missing the target and almost hitting Dunstan who was at the station ahead of us. He turned to us startled before focusing on whatever he was doing.

I shook my head and pulled back the arrow. It cut through the air and hit the target, straight in the chest. The District 4 boy sneered at me, then went to where Issac and the rest of the Careers were. I rolled my eyes. _Go whine to you daddy you spoiled kid._ I thought to myself. It was clear he was younger than me; not by much though. The thought of _my_ dad saddened had left my mom since she was 'lazy and useless'. I despised him now. Every now and then I would run into him on the street and all we would do would glare at each other. We wouldn't speak to each other, we would barely look in each other's eyes.

Did I miss my dad?

Not one bit.

"Sarah? Sarah!" Dunstan said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You were standing there with the bow drawn for thirty minutes now!"

"Oh," Was all I could think of to say. I held the bow and arrow in my left hand as my right hand rubbed my temple. I drew the arrow back and hit the target in the head. As soon as I let go of the arrow, I remembered that it was my dad who taught me how to use a bow and arrow. I immediately put the bow back and left the arrows in the target. I went to where the swords were, grabbed one and swung aimlessly at the targets. Breathing heavily, I put the sword down and ignored the stares I was getting. I went over to the side and sat down, I need a break. I needed to clear my head.

Why me? Why did my dad leave? Why was _I_ reaped for the Hunger Games. Why am I here?

So many 'Why" questions ran through my head. I sighed and stood up, slightly dizzy. I went to the Nature Station to clear my head.

* * *

I laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, looking for pictures in the pattern. Dinner was over, and we talked about tomorrow and the private sessions with the gamemakers. I was _not_ looking forward to that. Being honest, I didn't talk much. Just a "Yeah" or a "Sure" thrown around here and there, but that was it. I drifted off to sleep, wishing I was back home.

* * *

**So, go vote who you want to win the games on my profile so you guys can have SOME influence on this story.**

**Did you catch any of the lyrics? No? Oh well...**

**So, it's the weekend and I have to work on a diagram and study for french. Can anyone send me the English verbs so I can study? I left my binder at school. XP**


End file.
